Feeling and the Filmed Body: Judy Garland and the Kinesics of Suffering

Abstract

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The celebritization of self-care: The celebrity health narrative of Demi Lovato and the sickscape of mental illness

“…Thus, for both male and female mental breakdown, it is the same ideology of competitive individualism that is invoked as the norm, with clear gendered differences: psychological instability for male artists is associated with perseverance, credibility and authenticity; for female artists, mental breakdown is seen as a sign of failure, inherent instability or a lack of resilience (cf. Bell, 2008; Holmes, 2015; Lerner, 2006: 41–61; McLean, 2002).…”

“…There is a societal tendency – which will be addressed in more detail below – to respond to a mental crisis of male celebrities by invoking the trope of a heroic ‘battle’ with and strong-willed triumph over mental illness, whereas female stars in psychological turmoil are associated with inherent frailty and instability. In this light, it is telling to contrast the mediagenic passage through mental turmoil in the case of Adam Ant (Harper, 2006), Charlie Sheen (Harris, 2012) or Joaquin Phoenix (Martin, 2015), with the structurally undermined careers of stars such as Judy Garland (McLean, 2002), Courtney Love (Coates, 1998), Britney Spears (Fisher, 2011; Luckett, 2010) or Kerry Katona (Bell, 2008), all of whose careers were irreversibly – and negatively – affected by their mental crises. In addition, the case of Lovato is exceptional in the sense that her breakdown is presented, as will become clear, as an event that has in fact increased her celebrity status, allowing her to reclaim and redefine her success, take ‘control’ over her life and redirect it toward a ‘bigger purpose’ (cf.…”